Combination folding bed and tent support



June 29, 1943. A. A. GREGG 2,323,127

COMBINATION FOLDING BED AND TENT SUPPORTS Filed Dec. 18, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS June 29, 1943. A. A. GREGG 7 2,323,127

COMBINATION FOLDING BED AND TENT SUPPORTS Filed Dec. 18, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mma'a ATTORNEYS \(ENTOR I June 29, 1943. GREGG 2,323,127

COMBINATION FOLDING BED AND TENT SUPPORTS Filed Dec. 18, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A11ORNEYS Patented June 29, 1943 COMBINATION FOLDING BED AND TENT SUPPORT 7 Albert Gregg, Kaycee, Wyo. Application December 18, 1939, Serial No. 309,888

, 1 Claim. (Cl. 174) This invention relates to combined folding beds and tent supports, and its general object-is to provide a combination of that character which can be folded in compact form,-to render the same easy to handle, as well as to take up minimum space for storage and transportation purposes, yet when set up in position for use provides a strong and sturdy full length bed, as well as center and ridge poles for a tent of the usual construction.

A further object is to provide a portable foldable bed constructed into a single unit andwhich can be set up or folded in an easy and expeditious manner, and when in set up position is locked accordingly to prevent any possibility of collapsing or any of the parts thereoffrombe- 7 coming casually disconnected.

Another object is to provide foldable center and ridge poles for a tent, the poles being constructed into a single unit which when unfolded can be attached to certain corner posts of my* bed for cooperation therewith and guy ropes for supporting the tent in set up position:

A still further object is to provide a combined portable foldable bed and a tent support that are simple in construction, inexpensive to manu facture, and extremely efficient in use" and service. i

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a front view illustrating my combined bed and support in use within a tent and with the latter in section.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 22 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the tent support unit partly folded.

Figure 4 is an edge view thereof.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the bed unit in set up position.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken approximately on line 6-6 of Figure 5, with a corner post and the bracing means therefor, partly folded in dotted lines, and in set up position in full lines.

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the bed unit partly folded; v

Figure 8 is an end view of Figure '7.

Figure- 9 is afview of a bed unit completely folded and looking toward the side rails thereof.

Figure 10 is a view of the bed unit completely folded and looking toward the end rails thereof.

Referring to the drawings in detail it will be noted that the letter A indicates a tent of the usual type that requires center and ridge poles as well as guyropes for supporting the same in set up position, and it might be mentioned that the tent forms no part of my invention, which lies solely in the foldable bed and the center and ridge pole unit.

The bed includes relatively wide flat side and end rails, broadly indicated by the reference numerals l and-2 respectively, and while the rails l are longer than the rails 2, they are otherwise substantially similar, in that each is made up are pair of hingedly connected sections, the

sections 3 of the side rails and thesections 4 of the end rails each having welded or otherwise secured to the inner ends thereof flat hinge plates 5 for disposal in pairs, and the plates extend beyond the inner ends to provide guide spaces 6 for receiving the inner ends of the companion sections 1 and 8 therein. The hinge plates include depending semidisk ears 9 that have pivotally connected theretc as at I0, substantially like cars ll formed on the inner ends of the sections 1 and 8, the ears I I being disposed between the hinge plates, so that'when' the bed is in set up position, theinner-ends of the sections 3 and 1 will abut each other, and the inner ends of the sections 4 and 8 will likewise abut each other, as will be apparent upon inspection of Figure 5, for cooperation withthe pivots I0 for holding the sections of each rail in horizontal alignment. However, it will be obvious that the sections can be readily moved on their pivots to allow folding of the sections of each rail in longitudinal edge to edge contact, as clearly shown in Figures 9 and 10.

The outer ends of the rails are pivotally connected adjacent to the upper comers thereof as at l2 to the angle portions of angular corner posts 13 and each rail is supported with respect to its corner post, by braces. Each brace includes a lower flat link It and an upper fiat link I5 and the links M are pivotally connected to the inner faces of the rails, while the links l5 are pivotally connected to the inner faces of the posts. The links H are each Provided with a slot l6 extending longitudinally thereof, for pivotally and slidably receiving a headed pivot pin I! fixed to the companion link [5 which is likewise provided with a substantially ttriangle shaped notch I 8 to receive a lug l9 struck from the link [4 for holding the links of each brace in alignment or in other words in supporting and bracing position to cooperate with the inner abutting ends of the sections for holding the bed in set up position, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2. However, the links can be readily moved on their pivots, like the sections, for the disposal of the bed in folded position as shown in Figures 9 and 10 which illustrates that the bed is folded in a very compact form to take up minimum space for storage and transportation purposes, as previously indicated.

Each of the rail sections is provided with an inturned flange along the lower longitudinal edge thereof and the flanges are provided with a plurality of openings 2| arranged along their length for receiving suitable means for attaching a mattress support 22 thereto, the support shown being a sheet of fabric material, such as canvas or the like, but it may be in the form of a spring formed from wire mesh material or the like, as will be apparent. In any event, the support 22 is stretched between the flanges and is permanently connected to the flanges of the side rails but is detachably connected to the flanges of the end rails, in order to be disconnected therefrom, to allow free folding of the bed, as will be apparent.

The foldable center andridge pole unit'for the tent, as best shown in Figures 2 and 3, includes a. ridge pole that is made up into a'pair of sections 23 and 24 having one of their endspivotally connected together as at 25 and pivotally connected to the opposite ends thereofare one of the ends of center pole members 26. The center pole members aswell as the sections 23 and 24 are in fact relatively narrow strips of metal and in order to hold the sections 23 and 24m alignment with each other, or in operative position as shown in Figure 2, it will be noted that the section 23 has a keeper tongue 21 formed on its inner end and disposed parallel to the section 23 to provide a channel for receiving theadjacent end of the section 24 therein. 7

The free ends of the center pole members are likewise provided with keeper tongues 281 formed thereon and disposed in parallelism therewith to provide channels for slidably mounting the center pole members on the upper ends of one of the angle portions of two'of the corner posts, and flanges 29 are likewise formed on the free ends of the center polemembers-for engagement with disposal in the path of the members 26, so that when the center and ridge pole unit is folded, the members 26 are disposed in abutting relation with the lugs 30 so as to tend to hold the same in folded position, it being obvious from Figure 3, that when said unit is folded, the sections 23 and 24 and the center pole members 26 are all disposed in overlapped relation with each other.

From the above description and disclosure in the-drawings, it will be obvious that I have provided a :portable foldable bed unit that is pri- -marily designed for use by campers and the like for'disposal within a tent, for cooperation with the center and ridge pole unit for supporting the tent in set up position, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim. is:

In a portable foldable bed, side'and end rails, each rail including a pair of relatively thin wide flat sections, flat hinge plates fixed to one end of one section of each pair and extending longitudinally beyond said end in spaced parallel relation to each-other to provide a channel, semidisk ears included in the plates, a substantially semidisk ear formed on one end of the companion section and pivotally connected to and between the first ears for disposal of the end of the companion section within the channel and said ends in abutting engagement with each other when the bed is in set up position, corner posts having the opposite ends of the sections pivotally connected thereto, and foldable supporting braces forthe rails and connected thereto and to the corner posts respectively.

ALBERT A. GREGG. 

